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Editoriale Editorial Il Colle Di Galileo Roberto Casalbuoni, Stefania De Curtis Editoriale Editorial Il Colle di Galileo Questo numero della nostra rivista è in buona parte dedicato ad un contributo che rappresenta il ricordo di Nello Carrara [Firenze, 19 febbraio 1900 – Firen- ze, 5 giugno 1993] – compagno di Enrico Fermi alla Scuola Normale di Pisa – in una conferenza tenuta al Rotary Club di Firenze nel maggio del 1955, pochi mesi quindi dopo la scomparsa di Enrico Fermi, avvenuta nel novembre 1954. Sebbene questo contributo sia già apparso nel Volume 1 della Collana I Libri de “Il Colle di Galileo”, abbiamo ritenuto opportuno riprodurlo anche in questa sede, dato il grande interesse storico che rappresenta. Infatti Nello Carrara fu compagno di studi alla Scuola Normale di Pisa, sia di Enrico Fermi che di Franco Rasetti e, in questa conferenza, presentò i suoi ricordi di quel periodo. La lettura di questo te- sto è estremamente affascinante in quanto rivela alcuni lati del carattere di Fermi. Vogliamo ricordare alcuni dati relativi a Nello Carrara. Entrò alla Scuola Nor- male Superiore di Pisa nel 1918 e completò la sua tesi sulla diffrazione dei raggi X nel 1921. Dopo un periodo presso l’Università di Pisa divenne professore pres- so l’Accademia Navale Italiana di Livorno fino al 1954. Ha anche insegnato Fisi- ca presso l’Università degli Studi di Bari nel 1945-1946, e l’Università di Pisa dal This issue of our journal is largely given over to a contribution that represents the recollections of Nello Carrara [Florence, 19 February 1900 – Florence, 5 June 1993] who was a compan- ion of Enrico Fermi at the Scuola Normale of Pisa. It was originally presented at a conference held at the Rotary Club of Florence in May 1955, hence just a few months after the demise of Enrico Fermi, which took place in November 1954. Although this contribution has already been published in Volume 1 of the series I Libri de “Il Colle di Galileo”, we felt it was expedi- ent to reproduce it here too in view of its great historic interest. Nello Carrara was indeed a fellow student of both Enrico Fermi and Franco Rasetti at the Scuola Normale of Pisa, and at the conference he presented his memories of that period. The piece makes extremely fascinat- ing reading, not least for the light it casts on certain aspects of Fermi’s character. We should like to recall a few details regarding Nello Carrara himself. He enrolled at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa in 1918 and completed his thesis on x-ray diffraction in 1921. After a period at the University of Pisa, he became a professor at the Italian Naval Academy © 2016 Firenze University Press Vol. 5, 1, 2016, pp. 7-8 ISSN 2281-7727 (print) DOI: 10.13128/Colle_Galileo-18325 ISSN 2281-9711 (online) www.fupress.com/cdg 8 Roberto Casalbuoni, Stefania De Curtis 1947 al 1950. Carrara ha fondato l’Istituto di Onde Elettromagnetiche di Firen- ze nel 1946. Titolare della cattedra di Onde elettromagnetiche presso l’Istituto Superiore di Napoli nel 1954, da dove si spostò nel 1956 all’Università di Firen- ze. Nel 1975 è diventato professore emerito. È stato anche Direttore del Centro di Microonde del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Ha svolto la sua attività di ricerca nel campo delle microonde (di cui aveva creato il nome nel 1932). È sta- to consigliere scientifico di numerose industrie italiane ed è stato co-fondatore e poi Presidente della SMA (Segnalamento Marittimo ed Aereo). È stato nominato Grande Ufficiale al Merito della Repubblica Italiana e l’IFAC, un Istituto di Fisi- ca Applicata del CNR, porta il suo nome. Questo fascicolo include anche un interessante contributo di Paolo Molaro che riguarda la possibilità che un certo ritratto giovanile di Galileo sia quell’au- toritratto di cui è fatta menzione nella prima biografia dello scienziato redatta da Thomas Salusbury (1664). Massimo Mazzoni ci presenta due archivi storici dedicati rispettivamente ad Antonio Garbasso ed a Giuseppe Occhialini. Chiudono il fascicolo le relazioni su due Workshop tenuti all’Istituto di Fisica Teorica Galileo Galilei (GGI). in Livorno, where he continued to work up to 1954. He also taught Physics at the University of Bari from 1945 to 1946, and at the University of Pisa from 1947 to 1950. In 1946 Carrara founded the Electromagnetic Wave Research Institute in Florence. In 1954 he was Professor of Electromagnetic Waves at the Istituto Superiore in Naples, from where he moved to the Univer- sity of Florence in 1956. He became Professor Emeritus in 1975. He was also Director of the Microwave Centre of the Italian National Research Council (CNR). His research activity was carried out in the field of microwaves, and it was indeed he who coined this term in 1932. He was scientific consultant to numerous Italian industries and co-founder and later President of the SMA (Segnalamento Marittimo ed Aereo), which produced radar equipment. He was ap- pointed Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and the IFAC, an institute of applied physics of the CNR in Florence, is named after him. This issue also includes a most interesting contribution by Paolo Molaro concerning the possibility that a certain youthful portrait of Galileo might be the self-portrait mentioned in the very first biography of the scientist penned by Thomas Salusbury (1664). Massimo Mazzoni provides us with an introduction to two historic archives dedicated re- spectively to Antonio Garbasso and to Giuseppe Occhialini. The issue is then completed by the reports on two Workshops held at the Galileo Galilei Institute for Theoretical Physics (GGI). Roberto Casalbuoni, Stefania De Curtis.
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